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After delays, Hotel Van Zandt project in works again

After delays, Hotel Van Zandt project in works again

After a delay of more than six years, developers now say construction is due to start in June on Hotel Van Zandt, a project that will rise 16 stories at Red River and Davis streets on downtown Austin’s eastern edge.

The 322-room hotel is being built at a cost of more than $90 million, with financing by Bank of America. The developer is JMI Realty LLC. San Francisco-based Kimpton Hotel and Resorts will manage the hotel when it opens in the first quarter of 2015, said Greg Clay, JMI’s chief investment officer.

“Hotel Van Zandt is back on track,” Clay said. “We have a construction loan, and all capital is in place.”

The hotel will have a destination restaurant and bar on the fourth floor, along with a pool and other amenities, Clay said.

Initially announced in September 2006, the hotel was one of numerous projects locally and nationally to be postponed when financing dried up during the economic downturn. The economy also delayed the start of White Lodging Corp.’s downtown convention hotel, but the project — a $300 million JW Marriott with 1,012 rooms — broke ground last year at Congress Avenue and Second Street.

As downtown’s skyline has changed dramatically in the past decade or so, so too has the Rainey Street area on the east side of downtown where Hotel Van Zandt will be built. The resurgence has included new residential towers, restaurants and bars. And more projects are planned that, if built, will bring additional apartments and condominiums, hotel rooms and other development.

Another convention hotel project, a 1,000-room Fairmont hotel, is planned at East Cesar Chavez and Red River Streets, near Hotel Van Zandt. A hotel is part of the vision for an ambitious mixed-use project being planned by the Sutton Co.

Randy McCaslin, a vice president with PKF Consulting, a hospitality industry consulting firm, said Kimpton is “an independent, boutique brand that is missing in the Downtown Austin market.

““Downtown lodging demand continues to exceed expectations,” McCaslin said. “The Kimpton brand will do well in the dynamic Austin market.”

Kimpton manages more than 50 hotels in the U.S., each with a local influence and flavor.

Hotel Van Zandt is being designed by WDG Architecture.

“I have been looking forward to this project for a while, and think it will be a real game changer for the Rainey Street area, adding a wonderful piece of architecture, and a great energy and vibe,” said Robb Hicks, associate principal with WDG Architecture.

The interior designed will be the work of Mark Zeff, founder of New York-based Mark Zeff Design and an internationally known designer.

“I have been a fan of Austin for a long time, and was thrilled to be asked by Greg Clay to get involved in the project,” Zeff said. “I have designed luxury interiors all over the world, and many in New York City, but only in Austin have I seen such an organic growth of creativity and style. We look forward to becoming a part of that fabric.”

Clay said the Austin hotel will be “totally original,” but “more like the Four Seasons in comfort and service, with the Austin vibe of the ( Hotel) San José,” a popular locally owned boutique hotel on South Congress Avenue.

The Van Zandt name reflects “Texas history and Texas soul,” and Austin’s musical roots, Clay said. Though not named for any individual person, he said, the name recalls Isaac Van Zandt, the first ambassador to the United States from the Republic of Texas, and his great-great-great grandson, the late Townes Van Zandt, a legendary singer and songwriter, along with other musical Van Zandts.